As a result, the frequent flier program has become a valuable weapon against larger full-service carriers such as American, United, and Delta.

"Alaska Airlines has to go above and beyond its rivals because it doesn't have the network diversity of rivals," Raymond James & Associates senior vice president of equity research, Savi Syth, told Business Insider.

An Alaska Airlines Boeing painted in its Virgin America "More to Love" merger livery. Alaska In addition, Syth noted that Alaska's decision to not feature a revenue component is due to the fact that it caters to a slightly different clientele than its rivals which are focused on high-spending business traveling "road warriors."

With the acquisition of Virgin America, Alaska Airlines has firmly cemented its intention to become the carrier of choice for the West Coast of the United States.

However, Alaska's larger rivals won't back down so easily.

Delta invaded Alaska Air's home turf in 2014 when it added Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to its network of hubs.

Alaska secondary hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco are just as competitive. United is a major player at SFO while all three major legacy carriers have hubs at LAX.

AP For that reason, the airline's mileage program has become a key part of Alaska's business strategy in California.

"The travel mindset in California is that you take weekend trips on a regular basis," Bowman said. "It's not such a big deal to fly from LA to San Francisco a couple of times a quarter."

"So what we've tried to do is show just how a few of those trips can earn you free travel on Alaska must faster than with any other airline," Bowman added.

Alaska's goal is to use the generous rewards program to turn prospective customers into loyal repeat customers.